Chapter 256

In the days when her younger sister was still alive…

Back then, for the man of that era, the blessing of the stars was truly a blessing.

When he lacked the blessing, even walking down the street could lead to encountering an Object.

And there were times when Objects would suddenly pop out in an empty house as if from nowhere—truly, it was a blessing.

Even the somewhat ambiguous ‘Choice of the Stars’ was a blessing to him.

The reason was deeply personal.

Because he believed it was a blessing given to his younger sister by the Choice of the Stars.

He had a younger sister who was timid, avoided people, and never left the house.

But after receiving the ‘Choice of the Stars,’ all those symptoms disappeared.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

It was genuinely worthy of being called a blessing.

There was a rumor that those who received the ‘Choice of the Stars’ all became antisocial, selfish, destructive, and hedonistic.

In reality, most of the ‘Chosen Ones’ ended up in jobs like hitmen—professions normal people wouldn’t touch.

Such was the pervasive rumor that anyone who received the ‘Choice of the Stars’ would become someone entirely different, as if they were a completely changed person.

But at least, the man’s younger sister seemed to be an exception.

She remained the kind and gentle younger sister he knew.

She had merely gained a little courage.

And the once powerless, fear-stricken younger sister found a dream.

“Big Brother! Someday, I want to leave this city and travel to other countries.”

It was a dream she kept repeating like a mantra.

Of course, the man would just laugh awkwardly and let it pass.

Because leaving Southern Italy was absolutely impossible as long as the blessing of the stars remained.

And because the man feared the disappearance of the star’s blessing and the shattering of their current dream-like happiness.

But…

Was it destined for dreams to break?

The moment he saw his younger sister return home, drenched in blood, the blessed everyday life crumbled into chaos.

That moment still felt imprinted on his retina.

Strangely, all the wounds were self-inflicted.

And as his younger sister struggled to say something, her body turned into a bluish light and vanished.

What were you trying to say?

To find the answer, he dove into contract work, chasing after his younger sister’s footsteps, but he still hadn’t found it.

All he learned was that until the very end, his younger sister had been chasing the origin of the ‘blessing of the stars.’

Though there are no clues yet, her death feels deeply connected to the ‘blessing of the stars’ itself.

“…”

Gently, something brushed against his eyes, slowly waking the man from a shallow dream.

A blurry purple hue and wriggling shadows came into view.

Though hazy, it felt as if his younger sister had returned, so he called out her name—but there was no response.

“!”

Something is off.

As awareness fully returned with the sense of unease, the man startled awake, grabbing the gun beside his pillow and aiming it at the unidentifiable thing before him.

“Who are you?”

Is this an Object?

Although it wasn’t the kind of Object typically seen in places blessed by the stars, it was hard to describe it any other way.

Palm-sized.

Purple skin.

Shadow moving as if alive.

This strange visitor cloaked in shadow tilted its head slightly while gazing at the man, though its overly confident posture and friendly gaze felt slightly off.

***

The golden Reaper tilted its head upon seeing the black-and-white clothing, which looked quite old.

“Object?”

Though the worn-out clothes held some mysterious aura, they weren’t particularly beneficial or harmful to humans, so the golden Reaper quickly lost interest and rushed toward Yerin.

Yerin had been eagerly waiting for the golden Reapers’ visits, and her house was filled with various toys—from mini trampolines to things the golden Reapers would surely love.

Actually, Yerin had wanted to bring everything to Sehee Research Institute secretly, but since there was a limit to what she could smuggle in, all these items stayed at home.

Playing around so happily, time slipped by unnoticed, already past 10 PM.

Then the golden Reapers began swaying their heads as if extremely sleepy, crawling over one by one and clinging to Yerin’s body.

As sleepiness spread like a yawn, Yerin soon transformed into a Christmas tree covered in golden Reapers!

“A golden Reaper Tree!”

“If only the gray Reaper were here too…”

How wonderful it would be to take a picture of everyone wearing water deer pajamas, sound asleep in their rooms.

Thinking this, Yerin started preparing for bed, but a golden Reaper clinging to her cheek woke up, rubbing its eyes sleepily.

“Ah, did I wake you? Sorry.”

Though Yerin apologized for waking it, the golden Reaper was simply reacting to her fleeting wish.

“Mommy?”

Tilting its head, the golden Reaper emitted determination, its antennae glowing faintly as it began summoning Mom.

Summoning Mom, the golden Reaper stared intently into Yerin’s eyes, smiled cutely, and then buried its face back into her cheek, falling asleep again.

“Huh? What’s going on with them?”

As one golden Reaper’s antennae lit up, all the others attached to Yerin began softly blinking.

Did I make some mistake?

Just as she wondered this, the gray Reaper appeared out of thin air with an extremely annoyed expression.

“The Reaper showed up suddenly?”

Though initially flustered, Yerin instantly brightened like a child receiving a Christmas gift.

***

After all the golden Reapers fell asleep past 10 PM in the isolation room of Sehee Research Institute…

I was lying comfortably in bed watching TV in the dimly lit isolation room.

“Mommy…”

“Yes.”

Around me, both the sleeping golden Reapers and black Reapers muttered incoherently in their sleep as they clung annoyingly.

Why don’t they just create an attachment human to cling to instead of bothering me every time?

Normally, I’d have peeled each one off and thrown them off the bed, but today I decided to leave them be.

Despite their continued affection for me, their attitude seemed a bit off lately, prompting me to start “Kind Mother Week.”

“Kind Mother Week” will last until the golden Reapers regain their innocent simplicity and stop questioning my words!

Just as I resolved this, a small intention reached me.

“Mommy…”

“I need you.”

Though faint, like it might fade away at any moment, the intention was numerous.

What’s going on?

Thinking it might be some major event, I teleported immediately, only to find an unexpected scene.

A very surprised Yerin.

Dressed in mini water deer pajamas, calling for me half-asleep.

Clearly not an emergency situation.

“…”

Since it wasn’t urgent, I should probably go back.

But just as I thought that, the golden Reapers, too sleepy to even open their eyes properly, started running—or rather tumbling—toward me.

“Mommy!”

Though they couldn’t run properly due to sleepiness, they eventually managed to cling to me.

Normally, I’d spin around like a possessed top and shake them all off, but because it’s “Kind Mother Week,” I couldn’t bring myself to do so.

As I hesitated silently, Yerin ran over.

“Reaper! You’re here for the pajama party, right?”

Yerin was holding an extremely snug water deer pajama covering most of her body.

“Mommy also needs pajamas!”

“Mommyyy.”

Sleepy and unusually whiny, the golden Reapers radiated anticipation and happiness, thanks to Yerin’s excitement.

And with “Kind Mother Week” in effect…

I couldn’t help but put on the water deer pajamas.

Hihiiii…

***

Hmph.

The man walked through the night streets with a slight disgruntled sigh.

Inside his coat, a tiny purple face looked up at him.

“No answers, huh.”

The sudden appearance of the purple Object following him was impossible to shake off.

Shooting it had no effect, and no matter how fast he ran, it would always appear right next to him as if teleporting.

The tiny purple face.

Confidence-filled gestures.

Its eyes sparkling whenever he pulled out a cigarette or a gun.

Somehow, it even carried a strong mental pollution, making him feel, oddly enough, that its antics were somewhat cute lately.

Since it wasn’t causing harm, it almost felt like his late younger sister reincarnated.

His sister loved the color purple, and after receiving the ‘Choice of the Stars,’ she manipulated shadows, making the resemblance stronger.

Since it couldn’t be shaken off and didn’t seem to interfere, the man prepared his gear and stepped outside.

Carefully navigating the dangerous alleys after the ‘Blessing of the Stars,’

Through an eerie place where unseen gazes lingered despite the absence of people,

The man entered a shabby shop hidden deep in the alley.

“You’ve come. Gunman.”

An old man with white hair greeted him.

The old man, whose silver hair was partially hidden under a large hat, didn’t even glance at the man as he slowly read the newspaper.

As the man slumped onto a counter stool, the old man glanced at him with just his eyes and spoke.

“Same as usual?”

“Yeah.”

Their cryptic exchange made the purple Reaper’s eyes gleam brighter.

The old man was a member of the ‘Blue’ organization, responsible for delivering jobs to the man.

He was also helping the man uncover his sister’s death, though when asked why, he only mentioned ‘debt,’ sounding suspicious.

“Tell them I’ll be taking three weeks off due to injury.”

As the man briefly stated this and prepared to leave the shop, the old man’s small voice called out from behind.

“Be careful.”

The man briefly looked back at the old man, nodded slightly, and left the shop.

The old man wanted to say more but couldn’t form the words, letting them dissipate within his chest.

[“It’s good that you’re investigating ‘the Organization,’ but be careful.”]

A story he couldn’t verbalize for fear of being overheard.

***

The purple Reaper was doing excited jumping jacks inside the shadow of the man’s coat.

“Cool!”

As the purple Reaper waved its hands, the shadow inside the coat expanded wildly.

As if using the shadow as an entrance to another dimension, a new space began forming.

The completed shadow space perfectly resembled the quiet shop where the man had conversed with the old man.

Except the old man was replaced by a white hungry ghost, and the man was replaced by the purple Reaper.

Standing by the door without looking back, the purple Reaper emitted its intention.

“Tell them I’ll be taking three weeks off due to injury.”

Above the hungry ghost’s head, dialogue appeared.

[Be careful.]

Then the purple Reaper slightly nodded, dramatically swung its cloak, and exited the shop.

Simultaneously, the shadow-made stage dissolved like bubbles.

“Cool!”

The purple Reaper laughed mischievously, repeatedly exclaiming “Cool!”